People are dicks....

[guambomb832]

Prologue: Me and my friend jam at his venue that's about 20 minutes away. I left my amp and all my pedals at his venue in the vip area in the back.... And now the story:

Today, I got a text from my friend asking if I took my pedals home. I said "no why?" And I knew in the back of my head someone must have stole my shit. Then he replied "K because your pedals and our friend's bass was stolen last night." My heart sank. Even though it was just a Boss NS-2, a Deltalab TO-1 & DD-1, I'm so pissed. The story was that some band that was booked that night got mad at my friend for screwing them over(more than likely previous bands taking too long to set up and their set had to get cut), and they invaded the back room and took our friend's bass and his pedals PLUS all my pedals. My friend has offered to personally replenish my rig and I thank him for that, but it really urks me to what people will do to get back at people.

[Bloody_Inferno]

Suck to hear. But you should really always take your gear home with you. Even if it's at a place you can trust, at least you give yourself the solidarity of having everything with you at the end of the day.

[ivancic1al]

^

You can't trust people, I hate to say it.

That sucks though dude, but I guess at least you know who did it right?

[Ricky_Gallows]

Originally Posted by Bloody_Inferno

Suck to hear. But you should really always take your gear home with you. Even if it's at a place you can trust, at least you give yourself the solidarity of having everything with you at the end of the day.

this.

At shows I literally sit by all of our stuff until we play. my laptop, money box for merch, and keys never leave my back pack which never leaves my back except for the 25 mins i'm performing.

Bummer on your end. Gotta learn to expect things like this.

[Explorer]

And now, the part I didn't read:

Did you call the cops and report the theft?

It is theft, you know. If you don't report it, it's just on you. Do you have money to just hand to someone?

Let the cops determine if your friend should be on the hook, or if that should fall to the people who stole the gear.

I encourage you to take this step. Not only will you be protecting yourself, but you'll be protecting anyone down the line the next time the same person pulls this dick move.

Even better, if the same person has done this before, and has charges pending/suspended from that incident, then karma will work itself out.

Good luck!

[The Reverend]

What venue was this at?

[SirMyghin]

Originally Posted by Explorer

And now, the part I didn't read:

Did you call the cops and report the theft?

It is theft, you know. If you don't report it, it's just on you. Do you have money to just hand to someone?

Let the cops determine if your friend should be on the hook, or if that should fall to the people who stole the gear.

I encourage you to take this step. Not only will you be protecting yourself, but you'll be protecting anyone down the line the next time the same person pulls this dick move.

Even better, if the same person has done this before, and has charges pending/suspended from that incident, then karma will work itself out.

Good luck!

With Explorer here, seeing as you apparently even know who it was, if you have not contacted the authorities why not? Turn their sorry asses into ground beef.

[Bloody_Inferno]

+1 to Explorer. Call the cops and report the theft.

[brutalwizard]

i left a line6 uber metal at a show once, i luckily a local band picked it up and called me about it.

i am sorry that some ....s stole your gear

[ZEBOV]

Do you know the name of the band that took your shit? If you do, you can "Like" them on Facebook so you know where they are gonna play in the future. Then you can strike however and whenever you want. If I were you, I'd hammer nails into the sides of their tires. That can't be fixed. They'll have to get new ones.

[Explorer]

@Zebov - Why would you recommend he do something which may result in criminal charges for the OP, and without him recovering his gear?

The kind of criminal vandalism you're suggesting could result in, for example, being put under restraint, and unable to come within 500 yards of the victim... which could prevent him from entering a venue where he's going to play.

And, flipping this around, if criminal charges are pursued for the theft, the OP could file a restraining order against the thief, and get the same conditions.

Would you rather be the restrained, or the one holding all the cards? Take a chance on your strike backfiring... or strike, with the police and the law as your weapons and your shield?

[Stealthdjentstic]

Yeah report it to the police, but they probably won't do anything anyways.

edit: whoever negged me, the police honestly will not give a .... sometimes. I've tried to get items back from people I KNOW stole something of mine before and the police basically tell you to .... off.

[Goatchrist]

I would first contact the cops too!

If for any reason nothing turns out, confront the band yourself!

[Hemi-Powered Drone]

Originally Posted by Stealthtastic

Yeah report it to the police, but they probably won't do anything anyways.

Maybe it's different in other places, but the police over here love it when they can actually get someone for a robbery.

[leandroab]

Dude if you think they stole your shit, call the ....ing poliser!

[Rook]

+1 for police

I can't understand why this isn't the first thing you did

[guambomb832]

Originally Posted by Explorer

And now, the part I didn't read:

Did you call the cops and report the theft?

It is theft, you know. If you don't report it, it's just on you. Do you have money to just hand to someone?

Let the cops determine if your friend should be on the hook, or if that should fall to the people who stole the gear.

I encourage you to take this step. Not only will you be protecting yourself, but you'll be protecting anyone down the line the next time the same person pulls this dick move.

Even better, if the same person has done this before, and has charges pending/suspended from that incident, then karma will work itself out.

Good luck!

Yes my friend contacted the police after they found out it was stolen, but he said the cops said it was the venue's fault because they pissed them off which lead them to steal the stuff, so it was on their hands

[Goatchrist]

Yes my friend contacted the police after they found out it was stolen, but he said the cops said it was the venue's fault because they pissed them off which lead them to steal the stuff, so it was on their hands

He can't possible say that! Why did your friend even tell the cops that he pissed them off? That's not important in that case.
Anyway, if the cops don't help, confront them yourself! Won't be hard if you know the bands name.

[guambomb832]

Originally Posted by Goatchrist

He can't possible say that! Why did your friend even tell the cops that he pissed them off? That's not important in that case.
Anyway, if the cops don't help, confront them yourself! Won't be hard if you know the bands name.

Well I'm going to the venue and getting my amp back, since I can't trust his place anymore. I'll be checking my local pawn shop and craiglist if there happens to be someone selling a ns2, to-1, and dd-1 at the same time, I'll confront him. question is, how can I prove that their mine? I don't think I have pictures of them.

[Konfyouzd]

Seriously?

I could see a self-proclaimed "opportunistic" petty thief doing some shit like this, but you'd think a musician would respect another musician AT LEAST enough to not jack his gear. That's just wrong. Then again, I suppose musician and petty thief aren't mutually exclusive terms.

[Espaul]

I played a show once and when we were about to rig down someone had stolen my Ground control footswitcher. Seriously, you cant even use that without an gcx audio switcher.. they probably didn't know what it was. I hate people.

[guambomb832]

Originally Posted by Konfyouzd

Seriously?

I could see a self-proclaimed "opportunistic" petty thief doing some shit like this, but you'd think a musician would respect another musician AT LEAST enough to not jack his gear. That's just wrong. Then again, I suppose musician and petty thief aren't mutually exclusive terms.

Yeah man I know. I just hope what goes around comes back around.

[avenger]

Originally Posted by guambomb832

Yes my friend contacted the police after they found out it was stolen, but he said the cops said it was the venue's fault because they pissed them off which lead them to steal the stuff, so it was on their hands

Your friend probably didn't call the cops or you need to get the officers name who said that and send some shit into the local media and cause a stir.

Or go burn some cop cars.

Just tell them they pissed you off and not to worry about it.

[urklvt]

@ thread title: You know what they say, you are what you eat.

[Explorer]

Originally Posted by guambomb832

Yes my friend contacted the police after they found out it was stolen, but he said the cops said it was the venue's fault because they pissed them off which lead them to steal the stuff, so it was on their hands

I doubt that story.

I'm sorry to suggest this, but your friend might not have talked to the police.

Here's the story you just presented.

Police say there was a theft.

That theft was justified, because a third party pissed off the thieves. Therefore, they will not help the victim, which is a different party from the one who pissed the thieves off.

In other words, if a venue tosses a drunk, and that drunk decides to torch a car not belonging to a venue... it's on the venue to fix the torching, and the drunk is off the hook?

See why it doesn't fit?

Contact the police on your own. Insist on pressing charges, especially if the officer makes that ridiculous assertion, and insist they write that assertion down. Being paranoid about his kind of stuff,

(I might even just leave my digital music player on record during those conversations, just in case they say something like that but don't want to commit in writing. Failure to enforce the law is a bad thing. Even if recording without a party's knowledge and consent might not be admissable, often a judge (if it comes to that in a case) will allow it if it involves police, and the police saying something in court which is contradicted by the recording. I've had it go this way, when the police recorded audio apparently had been switched off accidentally.)

However... the point is, this makes me wonder what really happened, and if your "friend" really contacted the police. That's why I could cut him out of the loop. Insist to the police that you want to press charges against whoever took the stuff, whether it's the other band, the venue, whoever. Have the cash values of the gear. Go for replacement value, and don't cheap out. Once you go past a certain threshold, it's not a question of the cops saying it's not worth it.

Further, there might be a fund in your area to recompense victims of crime.

How much was stolen in gear, using, say, Guitar Center prices?

Be sure to contact the person whose bass was stolen. Make sure it's all reported in one lump, as that raises the severity of the crime.

If I were you, I might even send my friend an email, asking him if just giving him a list of the gear to be replaced is sufficient. Don't be available for talking, so that he can leave an voicemail if he calls. Get acknowledgment of the replacement offer. That will help if he backs out.

That story of the cops saying that you and the other guy have to bear the brunt of someone being pissed at someone completely different? I call bullshit.